Maritime News

Somalia signs up to anti-piracy code

15 December 2017

Somalia has taken a further step towards strengthening its criminal justice system by becoming a signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, an agreement reached by 14 states in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden that has been an aid to tackling piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in the region.

Although the incidence of piracy and armed robbery off Somalia has been significantly reduced due to the adoption of tough anti-piracy measures and the deployment of naval forces in the region, there have been some recent occasional attacks. Reports of these, and other incidents of piracy and armed robbery around the world collected by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) 24-hour Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC), include the following.

Six pirates boarded a bulk carrier around 32 nautical miles off Brass, Nigeria on 14 December. Ten crew members were reported missing, and the remaining crew sailed the vessel to a safe port.

Four to five people tried to board a cargo ship around 19 nautical miles off Brass, Nigeria on 14 December. The master increased speed and took anti-piracy measures to evade the boarding.

Four robbers armed with knives boarded a tanker in the Singapore Straits on 13 December; they assaulted the duty oiler. The alarm was raised and the crew mustered. The robbers escaped with stolen ship’s engine spares.

Four robbers armed with knives boarded an offshore supply vessel anchored at Galang, Indonesia on 7 December. The alarm was raised and the crew mustered, and the robbers escaped empty-handed.

Robbers armed with crowbars were spotted on board an offshore support vessel anchored at Galang, Indonesia on 7 December. Crew raised the alarm. The robbers escaped with stolen ship’s stores.

Two skiffs, carrying weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and ladders, were spotted approaching a containership around 282 nautical miles off Mogadishu, Somalia on 17 November. The master increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres, and all non-essential crew mustered in the citadel. The pirates failed to board the vessel and fired two rockets towards the ship, which missed. They then abandoned their attack.